Tears of Red: curse of the dragon
by yan ryu
Summary: Somethings wrong with Neji? the presence of a mysterious shinobi may help, but she has a hidden agenda. updated:ch 3 up
1. Morning rising?

Hi there! ^_^This is my first Naruto fic and first submission to the site, hope u like it! This is a novel length story.

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto unfortunately, but the fan character that appears later on is mine!

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I want to be like the others…

I want to live in the light…

what is light…

I have not seen it before…

All I see is darkness, endless darkness. I want to see the faces of the ones I love, I know there voices, their smell, their touch and their warmth, but, I want to be able to imagine. 

What are dreams, what do they look like? When one has never seen the sun, the brightness of a endless blue sky with lazy clouds drifting by, how can you dream of flying above them, reaching up and past the stars?

Darkness is all I see, what I've always seen, an endless night. 

When will my morning rise?

***

The bright yellow disk rose into the morning sky, casting a warm glow across the horizon, illuminating the profiles of the mountain that was carved into great faces, the faces of the Hokage looked down upon the slowly waking village of konoha. It's residence began to spill out onto it's dusty streets as a new day began. 

One of konoha' more…sleepy residents, rubbed his eyes cursing the now _dead_ alarm clock that has been screaming at him for a good few minutes, as it lay rather sadly in pieces on the floor. Glancing through squinted eyes he looked at the calendar on the wall just at the side of him, a wide smile stretched across his face, he now remembered why he had set his clock so early.

"Ah ha! Today! Today's the day!" he shouted happily, suddenly very awake. He jumped out of bed, not realising his legs were rather tangled up in the sheets, he ended up right next to his dead alarm clock on the floor. He rubbed his bruised chin as he walked to the table, his breakfast was already laid out in readiness for the important day, one of the very few times he actually prepared for something. The three minutes it took for the noodles to soak up the boiling water was almost agonizing, he glared at the pot of instant ramen, willing it to hurry up.

It took only half the time before the cup was emptied and the boy got ready to get dressed. It had been over a year since he received the title of a chunnin, and well deserved as it was he still felt very proud donning his vest. The circled of red that embossed the back reminded him of all the battles he had fought and the powerful gennin he had defeated to receive it. Leaving his usual orange attire he wore the garb of a middle ninja, the black suit and army green vest were somewhat less aggressive on the eye, but they did contrast nicely against his golden hair and his deep blue eyes shone with excitement.

He marled his reflection in the slightly grimy mirror, he posed a couple of times, then finally resting a hand on his hip.

"He he, I look just like Iruka-sensei!" he chuckled. Apart from his noticeably different complexion he really did resemble his old teacher and to his glee had come close to his height over the couple of years. His daydreaming ended abruptly as what must have been a stone hit against his window. He strolled over, opened it and glared down getting ready to shout at the little brat trying to annoy him. To his surprise, better than an early morning argument with the brat downstairs, a girl with pretty pink hair starred up at him, her green eyes flared with rage. 

"Sakura-Chan!" 

The girl pointed her finger angrily.

"NARUTO!!! You were supposed to meet me fifteen minutes ago! Did u forget what were doing today! We cant be late!" she scolded loudly. Naruto gazed down at Sakura, he still had his big crush on her even though most of the time he spent with her she was ogling Sasuke. She had matured a lot in the past two years, enough so that she was able to pass the chunnin exam the next time round, thanks to some extra training she received from Naruto and Sasuke. 

Naruto smiled down at her widely and chuckled. " Yeah I know! I know!" with that he jumped straight out of the window and landed a few feet away from where Sakura was standing, still smiling he straightened up.

" Trust you to be late for our big mission Naruto, this is the first A ranked mission our team has had, and I'm not going to let you ruin it!" she waged her finger in front of his nose. He continued to grin.

" Well if you would stop telling me off we could go, I was afraid of moving in case you poked me in the eye!

Sakura scowled. " lets just go already, I'm not going to waste any more time arguing with you!"

**** 

The journey through konoha to the training ground where they were supposed to meet wasn't very long, about a half hours walk from Narutos' apartment, but to Naruto it seemed like forever. The adrenalin had already started to course through his veins making his heart pound loudly in his ears, but it was not quite loud enough to drown out the sound of Sakuras' ranting. One moment she was moaning about having to get up so early, then it was about having to wait for Naruto next she was daydreaming about spending three days with Sasuke. He wasn't really listening to what she was saying, he had other thoughts on his mind. The mission they had been set was not reserved for their team alone, another group was also assigned to the mission, it hadn't bothered him that kakashi didn't think he would be able to complete the task without additional help, it was the other team they had to cooperate with.

They were already at the training grounds when Sakura and Naruto arrived, the three older ninjas stood near the posts in the centre of the grounds, two standing with their backs facing them, the other leaned up against one of the tall wooden posts. It had been a while since they last saw them, although they were easily recognisable, slight differences in there appearances showed that they had grown quite considerably in the past two years. Noticing there arrival, the man in the middle looked up, his pale eyes glared straight into Narutos', who froze glaring straight back. Naruto was farmiliar with the cold glare of Hyuga Neji having had a few run ins with him in the past, he could deal with it, he didn't scare him, but the coldness of the Hyugas' stare softened slightly and a rare smile warmed his face. A feeling of mutual respect had formed between them over time, respect as shinobi, although he didn't think much of his icy demeanour and attitude, Naruto partly understood what Neji had been through. They were both cursed, something they both had to deal with.

" Uzumaki," Nejis' voice caused the other two ninjas to turn around. Lee and Tenten looked at Naruto and Sakura with a smile. Sakura, not noticing the atmosphere, beamed a warm smile at them, then started to look around. Diverting his attention to the pink haired girl next to him Naruto broke his gaze with Neji to join her.

" The Uchiha is over there," said Neji, Naruto and Sakura followed his gaze over to the trees that surrounded the training grounds. Among the cloak of shadow stood Sasuke, calm and collected, standing with hands in his pockets, the way he always looked when he was preparing himself for anything. 

Sakura eyes gleamed happily. " Sasuke!" he merely glanced at her, just for a second, then nodded toward Naruto, who returned the nod. 

***

It was mid spring, the days were starting to get warmer and longer, the trees were in full bloom and in the air was the sweet fragrance of the cherry blossom. A strong breeze floated through the trees, northward towards the Earth country, the same direction as the group of shinobi. They made their way across the fire country, using the help of the trees to hide their presence from any who might hinder the mission, leaping nimbly from branch to branch. They stuck closely to their respective groups naturally, remaining mostly silent, the slight sound of foot against bark and clinking of weapons in their ears. 

As always, Naruto found long silences dull, giving in to his mischievous nature he decided to strike up an argument.

" How come we got stuck with you guys anyway! I'm strong enough to handle this mission by myself!" Sasuke snorted, for once agreeing with him. Neji stopped suddenly, forcing the others to do the same, he turned, looking Naruto straight in the eye. The look on the Hyugas' face told the younger chunnin that he was not in the mood for Narutos' fooling around.

" Were here, to put it simply, because you alone do not have the skill to complete this kind of mission by yourselves, your lack of concentration is proof of that!" he folded his arms.

" We are about to enter a neutral zone, a part of land in between the fire and the country of the grass, this is an important mission requiring the combined talents of both our groups members, hiding in the neutral zone is a group of rogue shinobi that have been seen moving in and out of the fire country, they seem to be from the village of the cloud as they have been using ninjutsu to create a fog to hide themselves, if we are to find them, we will have to rely on my Byankugan to see through their techniques, if you can not see your enemy you risk death!"

Naruto scowled. " Alright! Alright I got it".

" Make sure you do Uzumaki, working in a team is as important as being strong on your own," Nejis' words seemed to surprise Tenten, who looked up at him eyes wide. "_A couple of years ago Neji would have said the same thing as Naruto, he was never really one who found it easy to rely on others strengths, ever since his fight with Naruto he seems to have changed a lot, his eyes are no longer filled with pain"._

**************

So what do you think? Not to wordy is it.

Anyway things get a bit more exiting in the next chapter as Naruto and the others enter the neutral zone!

Next chapter 2: the target


	2. The target?

Oh ho! We should see some action in this chappie yes! Please bear with me I tend to write novel like stories ^_^

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto *nods at Kishimoto-san* but the character that appears is mine!

Summary: the three day mission to the neutral zone had begun, but Narutos team has to work with Nejis team to complete it. But Tenten and lee are worried, their leader has been acting strangely, what could be wrong with Neji? 

Chapter 2 the target?

" Okay, I've managed to locate their exact position, there camp is just west of here," explained Neji as he pointed their targets hideout on their map. 

" These shinobi use a thick fog to surround their camp, for this mission to work we need to carefully plan out who will be attacking and from where". The others listened intently to the tactics they would be using to snare their prey, adding their own little touches here and there. 

During the first day of the mission they had managed to close the gap between them and the neutral zone, now being on its outskirts they had made camp for the night. Two tents had been pitched, one for each team, under a large oak tree, who's tangled roots provided cover from both the chilly wintry wind and from prying eyes. 

They had built a small fire to cook some food, careful not to give away the location,. Sakura, Tenten, Lee and Naruto were seated around the cheerfully kindling fire, happily watching the stew they had prepared simmer gently, Naruto wishing they had let him have the ramen first, which they had refused, to his disappointment. Neji and Sasuke had taken it upon themselves to run through the procedure one last time, just to make sure nothing would go wrong, namely nothing Naruto did could endanger them.

After partaking in some rather, tasty stew, they felt quite satisfied and ready for a few hours sleep before the next stage of the mission commenced. Naruto was the first asleep, taking up more than his share of the bed with his sprawled out arms and legs, Sakura, who failed in re-positioning the snoring beast, curled up on the far end of the mattress, her pillow curled around her head to drown out the sound. In the other tent, Lee and Tenten spent a few minuets talking quietly, what about only they knew then they were silent.

Sasuke walked towards his teams tent, wanting to lay claim to his share of the bed before Narutos mass expanded to cover the entire floor, he was the shortest out of him and Sakura but he took up a hell of a lot of space. He passed a quick glance over his shoulder, Neji was still hanging over the map, clearly concentrating, preparing for the morning. _Humph, he's taking this mission a bit seriously, even I'm not that bothered, oh well._

Neji stood starring at the various coloured dots and scribbles on the piece of mangled paper, tracing the lines with his eyes, after a while his eyes blurred as they lost focus, merely gazing into a space beyond the plain of the paper. He looked up. The other were now fast asleep, content in their dream filled rest, he glanced between the two tents. Not a sound from his team, the other on the other hand, proved its residence were more lively, Narutos loud voice could be heard, mumbling on about useless things, his dream must have involved a fight as a dull thud was heard, then another. Clearly they had fallen upon Sasuke as a deep thump caused Naruto to call out. After a few muffled rants a heavy silence fell. 

He didn't feel like sleeping, he hadn't in a while, he was tired but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't drift off. He had managed to nap for a hour or two, that was the only reason he hadn't collapsed of exhaustion, being deprived of sleep had made him unable to concentrate and affected his missions. Gai-sensei had noticed his lack of effort for the last couple of weeks, when he had enquired after it, Neji had become defensive and avoided the subject.

He felt so frustrated, there was no obvious reason to his recent insomnia, he had never been like this before. Nothing seemed real, peoples voices sounded Waverly, food had lost its taste, at times he would think he was dreaming, that he was asleep, only to find himself in a lot of pain when he had stumbled into a wall or over a table. It was embracing.

He couldn't survive like this much longer, he was in no state to act quickly in an emergency, he might not get there in time, the lives of others could be endangered. 

He lifted open the flap that covered the entrance to the tent, Lee and Tenten looked so peaceful in sleep, their blankets rose and fell with their gentle breathing, how he longed to join them. He removed his chunnin vest, laying it next to his pillow, he laid back letting his head fall heavily upon the soft cushion. He waited, for a long time, willing for sleep to take him, he closed his eyes tight but not even the darkness could comfort him. He raised his hand to his face, desperation begun to take over him, his eyes began to fill.

What should I do? I haven't fell this since….father, I feel so…vulnerable".

*****

It was about an hour before sunrise, the morning light had just begun to creep over the landscape casting long stretching shadows. Both teams were up and ready for action, Naruto yawned loudly and stretched his arms up in the air, he wasn't used to getting up before sunrise in fact this was the first time. The others were very alert, bustling about, putting down the tents, gathering their materials and removing all traces of their camp. Neji was just finishing packing one of the backpacks, making sure nothing was left behind, he let out a quiet yawn, covering his mouth with his hand. The night had been sleepless again, his head was fuzzy and his eyes felt sore from the tears he silently wept.

"Neji!" called Tenten. He looked around, her face was full off concern.

"Neji, I called you three times, are you okay?"

He stood up, his back still facing her, he picked up one of the bags and flung it on his back.

" I'm fine, what is it?"

" Were all set, are you ready?" a look of disbelief on her face. He tightened the straps around his waist.

" Of course I'm ready," he began to walk away . " Gather everyone up, were going before the sun rises fully".

She gazed at his back sadly. " Yes Neji".

Within a few minuets both teams were grouped together, their eyes gleamed with anticipation, Naruto was having a hard time standing still as Neji and Sasuke got ready, he wandered about clutching the straps of his backpack, sighing with boredom. 

" Naruto, our making me dizzy with your pacing back and forth, it wont be long now," Sakura chuckled, he looked at her and smiled.

" I'm just excited is all, all this waiting is making me restless!"

"NARUTO!" yelled Sasuke. Naruto spun around to face him.

"WHAT!!" he yelled back, clenching his fist in front of his face. 

" Shut up, where leaving". Sasuke jumped up into the foliage and disappeared. Naruto looked around as everyone else did the same, leaving him last.

"Oi! Stop running off without me Sasuke!" he shouted angrily as he leapt up into the trees. 

It wasn't long before they reached the border of the neutral zone, signs and warning were hung up on trees all around as they came closer to the area, a feeling of tension came over the group. They stuck close together. 

They carried on, past the various threats and intimidating signs, into the neutral zone. 

Though there wasn't any physical fence or border, they definitely felt far from home. A faint mist hung in the air, which with every few trees past, became thicker. Neji held up his hand, signalling the party to halt. They stopped, they stood quietly.

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Byankugan.

Neji looked far ahead of them, through the mist he spotted the camp.

" The hideout is about fifty meters straight ahead, there is no activity at the moment, they may still be asleep".

" It is possible that they know were here and are planning an ambush," Sasuke pointed out. Neji nodded.

" That also, but we are prepared for that anyway," he turned his back to the party, then spreading his arms out either side of his body, he suggested they move into their positions.

Moving quickly, the teams separated, Sasuke using his sharingan, lead his team to the south side of the base, Neji to the north, guiding his team through the thickening fog. 

__

OUCH! Thought Naruto as he crawled through a bush, he wasn't impressed with the fact that Sasuke made him approach from the ground. _I bet he knew that the shrubbery around here was mostly thorny bushes, Damn that Sasuke! _

He looked above him, Sakura was making her way through the trees to his far right, moving slowly past the branches. Sasuke to his left. Nejis team were mirroring there movements from the opposite angle, tightening the noose on their target. 

From his hiding spot in a higher tree, Neji looked down upon the area, he confirmed the locations of all the others, Lee was crawling through the shrubbery just below him, Tenten moving cautiously to his right. He could also see Sasuke and his party, closing in swiftly..

He turned his attention to the surrounding area, his eyes darted around the perimeter of the camp, he could detect no other ninjas who might be laying in wait. When he was sure, he locked eyes with Sasuke, far over the other side of the base, he nodded, all was clear. Signalling to their teams Neji and Sasuke dropped down from the trees and ran into the camp, Tenten and Sakura close behind.

***

"WHAT!!!" exclaimed Neji, stopping dead in his tracks.

"What's this?" Sasuke gaped. Sakura and Tenten stood frozen on the spot, mouths open wide. Hearing the shouting Lee jumped from his hiding spot and ran into the camp, he stopped suddenly as he realised what was happening.

Laying at his feet was the body of a ninja, drenched in blood, a large slash mark deeply imbedded in his back. 

"Huh? What is going on?" 

"They're all dead!" said Sasuke calmly, looking around. There were several corpses, about five or six, each one with similar wounds, deep gouges in their backs or chests, a few had limbs severed, parts of bodies and innards scattered the site. The dank smell of blood filled the air as it flowed freely across the muddy ground. 

Neji examined one of the bodies, whilst turning it over onto its back, blood from the gaping wound across the chest splattered up onto Nejis arm, he grimaced.

" The bloods still warm". 

Sakura gasped.

" Then whoever killed them must still be close by!" 

Suddenly they heard a yell close by.

" That was Naruto!" screamed Sakura. "NARUTO!"

Naruto came running out of the forest, as fast as he could into the middle of the camp where he spotted the others.

" Sasuke you idiot! You knew about the thorny bushes! You wanted me to get stuck didn't you!" he fumed. He stopped.

" Huh, what's wrong with you guys?"

" Naruto you fool, take a look around!" hissed Sasuke behind gritted teeth. Naruto flashed a blank expression, then gazed around him. He wrinkled his nose.

" Geez you guys! I think you over did it! And without me!"

" It was already like this when we got here," remarked Tenten, her eyes wide with fear. Naruto looked confused.

" Someone else got to them before us," Neji said in a cold tone. " During the night". 

Narutos confused expression changed into one of fear.

" Furthermore, your idiotic shouting has just given us awa…" Neji was cut off, his instincts jolted him out of the way of a kunai, it whizzed past his head and stuck into the ground directly in front of a stunned Naruto. Neji whirled round. He pulled out his kunai just as another clashed against it, small sparks fell from the weapons as metal grinded against metal. Neji looked up into a pair of gleaming eyes, he struggled to keep focus, the force behind the enemy was incredibly strong, to strong for someone who was weakened from lack of sleep. His right foot slipped back on the blood stained ground. He gritted his teeth.

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Shit! I can't fight like this! I'm not strong enough, if someone doesn't act soon, I'll be joining the filth this guy slaughtered. 

*******

OOOh! What gonna happen next? I'll leave it till the next chapter ^_^ 

Next: The wanderer.

I drew some fan arts for this fic if anyone want's so see how Neji and the others look two years later e-mail me and I'll send em to ya!


	3. The wanderer

YAY! I got some nice reviews, but what u wanted to know was what pairing was in it. This inst going to be yaoi, and no het pairing with the main characters either, I just wanted to clear that up. Any way I hope u enjoy the next chapter ^_^

****

Disclaimer: don't own Naruto but any additional characters are mine.

****

Summary: Nejis recent bout of insomnia is taking its toll, now to make things worse the mission has taken a turn with the hunters now becoming the hunted.

If anyone is having trouble understanding any of the Japanese terms I use for Weapons or techniques go to Narutoex.com they explain it all there.

****

Chapter 3: the wanderer 

Naruto stood, frozen to the spot, not knowing what to do. The sudden attack on them had thrown him off, he had been raring to go, ready to fight, but having the tables turned so quickly was unexpected. He watched hopelessly as Neji braced himself against the unknown enemy, he wanted to act but his body stopped him.

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SHIT! Why isn't anyone doing anything! He moved his eyes, unblinking, looking at the others, they all stood in shock, even Sasuke. 

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Damn it! Nejis foot slid back further, he could feel his hand start to shake under the continuous pressure. The other shinobi edged forward, their eyes still locked on one another, Neji could feel the killing intent radiating from his opponent like an intense heat. This was dangerous, why were they hesitating.

__

Come on! Someone…I can't…..

Suddenly a shuriken whistled past, very closely missing Nejis left leg but not missing the shinobi's right leg, it cut quick and deep into his exposed flesh, he winced. Neji saw the opening and lunged forward, pushing the enemies kunai away. He slashed , but he only caught thin air. Nejis eyes flitted around, desperate to catch a glimpse of his attacker.

Something moved behind him, before he could turn he heard the all to familiar phrase.

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Kage bushin no jutsu !

Several Narutos rushed past him, taking over the fight, Neji watched in surprise and relief as the Narutos threw out over a dozen shuriken up into the foliage of a not to far off tree. His cover blown, the ninja jumped swiftly down, right in the middle of a circle of angry looking blue eyes shinobi. They crouched, kunai drawn, ready to attack. The shinobi stood up straight, taking the weight of the injured leg, he chucked softly. 

The shinobi slowly lifted his arms from underneath the dark jacket he was wearing , Naruto prepared himself. His eyes grew wide, the shinobi had risen his arms into the surrender gesture. All of a sudden, the thick fog that had been hindering his sight melted away, the multiple copies looked around, he could see the others, standing a few meters away. Now they could see properly their confidence returned and they were ready for anything that might happen. Neji gripped at the handle of his kunai, he felt frustrated that Naruto had to come to his aid, anger began to build inside him.

" The bushin no jutsu huh, then you must be Uzumaki Naruto"

*****

Naruto was stunned, how could this woman know his name? He starred unblinking at the shinobi.

" What? How'd you know my name? Who are you?"

The shinobi smiled and lowered her eyes from Narutos' confused gaze, she sighed gently.

" I'm no one really".

"Then at least tell me how you know my name!" he said loudly. She looked up suddenly, he starred straight into her eyes, she diverted her vision to avoid his.

" I heard a bit about you from the chunnin exams two years ago, you were the only Gennin to be able to use the Kage bushin no Jutsu, that's how I knew," Naruto smiled widely, several loud _poofs _ were heard as the copies of himself were dispelled. He was really pleased that people were starting to recognise him. He threw his head back and puffed out his chest.

" Finally! People are staring to recognise the great ninja I'm turning out to be! Soon all eyes will be on Uzumaki Naruto and everyone will forget about…" 

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto was cut off rather surprisingly, he looked back at the shinobi, angry that she had known his name to. Her eyes weren't on Naruto but fixed on something behind him, he spun around and frowned when he realised Sasuke was the one she was looking at. Sasuke glared at her.

__

Damn that Sasuke! For once someone notices me, but as soon as they do he's back in the limelight again! 

" So, this camp, did you do this?" Sasukes eyes darkened, she held his gaze defiantly but shifted uneasily.

" These scum killed my brother, I was merely repaying them but I could ask you why you are here, this is the neutral zone, not a part of the fire country," she pointed out. 

" They had been wandering in and out of the fire country, our mission was to apprehend them and to question them, but thanks to you I don't think we'll be able to interrogate them now," he scowled, tensing slightly. Naruto and the others glanced between the two shinobi, something bad was going to happen if they went on at this rate, neither of them was backing down. By this time the sun was just peaking over the horizon, the sky turned to a shade of dark pink casting and eerie setting over the scene that had taken place that night.

" Well I'm sorry for ruining your mission," the unexpected apology from the shinobi caught Sasuke off guard, he looked at her blankly, he didn't know how to respond. She smiled and looked around at the perplexed faces that surrounded her.

" I guess I should also apologise for attacking you," she glanced at Neji, he held her gaze through narrowed eyes, she turned away.

" My methods must have seemed…violent…but I'm sure you understand that revenge can make even the kindest seem cold and unforgiving," she closed her eyes. 

" Heh, sorry about your leg!" Naruto smiled guiltily.

" Don't worry, I'm a fast healer," she turned her back to them. " I have to be going now, someone's expecting me, nice to have met you". she went to walk away.

"Hey! Wait a minute, what's your name?" Naruto shouted eagerly. She stopped, a small smile grew on her face.

*****

" Ariwara Mio?" Kakashi looked down at Naruto with a slightly confused look. " I think I've heard of Ariwara before…but I've forgotten". Naruto slumped. 

After the incident in the neutral zone, the group headed back to konoha with a few scrolls and artefacts they had salvaged from the hideout. They had hoped that one of their sensei would be able to provide a few clues as to who Mio was, Gai had no idea and kakashi was useless as always. They were more concerned of the fact that they had 'failed' the mission and let a suspect get away, despite that it was their first A mission. Naruto had argued that the ninjas from the hidden cloud village were stopped by Mio out of revenge and it was nothing to do with them but Kakashi was still angry.

"I'm putting you all on patrol for one week".

" Aye!" Naruto yelled in disbelief. He hated being on patrol, it was boring, all they did from sunrise to sunset was walk around the streets of konoha, making sure everything was peaceful. They wouldn't be able to train, do any missions, play or even eat at the raemen place, which in its self was torture enough to make Naruto cry. He couldn't even partake in his favourite pastime of playing pranks on Sasuke, that was the worst part, being on patrol meant he had to spend the whole day with the bastard! An entire day with Sakura on the other hand was the only way to make up for it, at least he could talk to her, he wouldn't get to bored if she was there.

Luckily enough the patrol only required one team per day, so the duty was shared by the two teams as day shifts. Gais' team hadn't been to happy about patrol duty either, lee was crushed by the fact that he wouldn't be able to carry on his training and Tenten was becoming increasingly worried about Neji. He had been more withdrawn than usual, especially on the way back from the neutral zone. 

Neji didn't know whether to praise or hate the fact of patrol duty, it did mean that he could skip out of strenuous training, which was becoming harder as the days went on, but long hours of continuous walking and surveying the area might prove worse. He was already feeling mortally handicapped after his failure to protect the others during the mission, if he were to fall behind while merely walking it would only dent his pride further. 

He sat on his windowsill, his knees pulled up to his chin, looking out onto the garden. The sun was disappearing amongst the trees, it was almost night again. He sighed heavily. Images of the morning before last replaying in his mind, he closed his eyes. 

__

What if it had been someone worse…

****

Tenten looked up at the sky, the sky was so blue today and there was a hint of warmth in the air that meant summer was a little bit closer. She sat on the freshly cut grass of the training ground, turning a shuriken on her finger, she always did when she was waiting, the metal was warm against her skin, he was late. Lee was perched on top of one of the tall wooden posts in the centre, his hand shielding his eyes from the bright morning sun as he looked around.

" Lee! Is there any sign of him yet?" Tenten shouted up to him. 

" The watermelon rind thinks he's a hawk now I see". Lee spun around, flailing his arms about, trying to keep his balance.

"Neji!" smiled Tenten as he walked up to them slowly. Her smile dropped when she saw that he was looking worse than ever, his skin was very pale and his eyes had become dull and lifeless. Lee jumped down just as Neji walked past him.

"Are…you ok?"

" Humph, I told you….I'm fine, let's just get this over with, I want to get back to my training," he huffed, keeping his back to them. Tenten and lee past worried glances at each other, if he didn't want to talk about it there was nothing else they could do to convince him otherwise. They followed him mournfully.

****

The sun was unusually warm that morning, it was only about 11:30 and they were hot and sweaty. They took a break underneath a cherry blossom tree, it was in full bloom and provided them with some well needed shade. Lee lifted the front of his hair and wiped his brow. _This hairstyle is stylish but it does make my face hot, well that's the price you have to pay to look fashionable!_

Tenten removed her chunnin vest to try to release some heat.

" I can't believe how warm it is today, its only the beginning of May," she said fanning her face with her hand, she glanced over at Neji, who was drinking from his water bottle. He was suffering the most in the heat, she had noticed that he would fall behind ever now and then, or he would stop completely.

__

I thought I saw something. I felt something suspicious. Must have been my imagination. He would think up an excuse and look at them like they were wrong for questioning him. 

She noticed that he drank a lot, even now he gulped at the water like he hadn't had a sip for a whole day, but this was every half hour or so. He took the bottle away from his lips and gasped at the air, he rested his head back against the tree.

He didn't feel good at all, the heat was making his head spin and the bright sun was torture on his sore eyes. He tried to cure the soreness by squeezing his eyelids together, but it just made the dizziness worse. At least he could rest for a little while in the cool shade of the tree. He gazed up at the pink petals and watched as they danced gently in the wind.

Suddenly there was a loud poof, Neji groaned, his one moment of rest was now gone.

" Good morning young chunnin!" 

" Ah! Good morning Gai sensei!" chirped lee.

" Good morning sensei," smiled Tenten.

" Taking a break I see! What a beautiful day for a picnic!"

" Was there something you wanted?" Neji said, still starring up into the foliage.

" Ah yes! There's an emergency!" they sat up to attention.

" An emergency?"

" More ninjas from the hidden cloud village have been spotted in the fire country, but this time they've been seen close around the borders of Konoha!" he said.

" What! Again, even after what happened last time?" Tenten gasped, she turned to Neji, he was already standing up.

" Why do we have to go, were not supposed to be doing any missions! Why?" she cried.

" You failed last time, see this as a way of redeeming yourselves! Kakashis' team is also assigned, you will meet with them now!"

Tenten watched in horror as Neji began to head for the training grounds, when he was out of ear shot she turned to Gai, her eyes full of fear.

" But sensei, he's getting worse, he'll get hurt!" he rested a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

" He knows his limits, you must have faith in him, he's a proud man, don't do anything that might hurt his pride, he may never forgive you if you do Tenten".

" Don't worry Tenten, I'll be watching him to!" Lee smiled. Gai looked behind him in the direction that Neji had gone.

" He is a genius, he won't die so easily".

TBC….

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Author: AWWWW poor Neji . what's gonna happen to him. He he I love the part in the anime when Neji calls lee a watermelon rind ^_^

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Next chapter: 04 : The ambush.


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